This has been bugging me since I got my '79... I relaize that from '77-'92, the car was bascially unchanged.... but when I look at the side profile of my '79 vs. an '89 (similar to my mothers) either in person, or pictures... the '89 looks like a high scale luxry car, while the '79 looks like a stripped down, base model luxury car...

... I have came to the conclusion that it is either:

1) the color of my car
2) lack of chrome moulding on bottom of doors/rear quater panel (I have a very little on the area under the doors)
3) added chrome strip under windows/moved pin striping

it makes a big difference to me... I want other peoples opinions though, and if it is the chrome on the doors... could I find a Brougham from a junk yard and remove those panels... woudl they easily go onto my car?

the wire wheels (not hubcaps) on my car help... and they are aftermarket, but i like them... I know they will not hold up to the torque of the built 500 that will go in, so it is steelies and hubcaps for me once that happens....

Here is what I mean... 1989 brougham (pic from ebay) vs. my 1979 Sedan DeVille d'Elegance:

http://cadillacforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3047&stc=1

^ I guess it will not show up by itslef, so just click the link...

I think the 80 and on were squarer the body bends were more pronounced

Me I don't like the color on yours or the wheels

Nice car though ('79 - One of my favorites over here)

The roofline was squared off in 1980 on all the big GMs, I don't know if it's an illusion or not, but the trunk seems that way too. I think the tail light profile being more vertical creates that. Look at a pre-80 Chevy Caprice and that same difference is obvious, it's just hard to say why.

I noticed last night also that on mine, along side the opening for the fender skirts in the back, that is where the contour of the body goes in more, in the '80 it was moved near the rockers and more edgey...

..I don't like the color... besides that 70's puke brown and a really ugly green, it is next on the list.... any money into the car is going towards the engine build... but someday I would love to get it painted black metallic... big classic Cadillac's need to be black... I think that would help with the looks of the body.... it is just that after 25 years, the paint is still in pretty good condition.... I think it is just the color as it takes forever before it looks dirty, and is a very forgiving color to keep clean.... just not as easy to look at :)

I never realized that the '80 is more squared off... I guess that does make more of a difference too....

... Do you think I should try and find the chrome rocker panel trim pieces and add them to my car, or it isn't even worth the time and effort? I guess I will just have to live with it.

When I got the car, it had 3 very worn tires on steelies, and I used my mothers spare from her Brougham... the spare was a bigger tire then what was on there, so it wasn't matched... there were 3 hubcaps... 2 origanal and 1 from a Caprice (plastic) 1 origanal fell off on the way home, I still have one other orignal (missing Caddy logo) and the Caprice hubcap.... I didn't want to buy tires, and remembered the nice wire wheels that came on my mothers car... tires were worn, but better then what was on the steelies... when they are cleaned up, they look nice... they are made by Appliance... I may just sell them off when I do the engine swap, may get a few bucks for them....

Yeah, I've seen the rest of your pictures. The color clash is really rude. That is a really cool car though. I dont know what they were thinking when they did the interiors in the 70s. Ever see the 75/76 PLAID SEATS? My 1980 had an interior that just didn't look right. The wood grain dash was too light, the leather seats were in these big squares, and the door pull handles were ugly. Good thing it was trashed, I pulled a mint gut out of my old 87 and it looks much better. Lemme know when you want to part with those wheels.If you don't want a fortune for them I might be interested. I don't know how far upstate you are, but I'm just down in Ct. not too far from Springfield Ma.

I actually really like* the interrior of the '79.... it is a burgendy color (same as my '89 Oldsmobile)... cloth seats, but since the car is a d'Elegance model, it has the pillow-button kind of seats, and 50/50 split front seats (each seat with it's own arm rest)

only complaints I have with the interrior is the use of the fake burl wood... dosn't look as good as the American Walnut (?) as in my mothers '89 Brougham (oh well) and the sheer lack of quality... contact paper?!? I know the early-mid 70's models had it too, but on the pull handel and stuff, it has come off.... my dash is cracked in 4 spots too, but it kinda blends, and dosn't bother me.... I am glad the '79 dosn't have leather seats becuase 1) it would be cracked and not in nice shape by now 2) it would only get worse 3) the patterns in those years, IMO was ugly... both the '79 and Olds have cloth interrior, and like it alot... my '93 has leather, and with 93k miles, it is already showing it's wear....argh...

About the wheels... they are 15" they fit the '79 DeVille/'89 Brougham fine, so that is the bolt pattern, they cleaned up real nice.... they are in nice shape, it says they are made by Appliance, and I guess there was little stick on center caps for whatever brand car they go on, 2 wheels are missing it (says Appliance) 1 has it and 1 only has half... I didn't even know they were there until I was ready to put them on... they are really nice wheels and hold up to the power of the stock 425, but like I said, I doubt they'll hold up to the hot-rodding of the built 500.... so insteqad of risking loosing the wheels, and damaging my car, I am just going to take them off once the engine swap is done.... I am hoping sometime in the Spring to have it done.... Springfield, CT. isn't that far... I am exit 18 off NYS Thruway (I-87) infact I would be willing to go for a drive and deliver them..... as far as price... I don't even know what they are worth.... my fathers friend told me that since they are real wire wheels, I could get $1,000 for the 4.... I doubt that.... I suppose just make an offer..... only thing is it would have to wait until..... this coming Spring..... if that isn't a problem, then it would be good.

* by really like, I mean, IMO it is one of the better interrior colors of the 70's... it seems to have stayed around, although you don't see it in to many newer cars....

Instead of linking pics to this... just scroll to the bottom of the page for more pics... not too bad for $300? eh :D

http://cadillacforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16477

There are a few things that I see that make the newer model look "classier". They are all very subtle. The vinyl top extends onto the rear door (around the small window) making the roof look longer. The rear of the roof (back glass area) looks more "squared off".....more up and down than the '79. The wheels (as far as spokes go, imo, it's hard to improve on a nice set of factory wheel covers. I think most aftermarket spokes w/white walls look kinda ghetto). The wider white walls on the tires. The blue color probably helps too.

Spring's no problem Wolf. I haven't looked on a map, but it doesn't sound like you're too far at all. I was hoping you wouldn't say Syracuse or something. I got my 87 in the back if you want to score the rocker trim too. I come across so much stuff who knows what else I'll have by then. I agree with Lux, the subtle changes to the 80s cars looked nice. Maybe an 80s rear bumper on that 79? A Frankenstein custom can look cool if you do it right. I think those wires would look cool on my 89 with the white letter tires that I have. I'll post some pics soon. My 80 and 89 are almost identical twins, same color, same grilles, everything. Except for the strips in the center of the doors, you could hardly say which is which to look at them from the street.

I noticed on my mothers '89 Brougham, and her bf's (16 years now...) '87 Brougham that the padded roof dosn't go onto the rear doors...

I think the slope of the rear window adds a little... also the opra lights on the '79 are on the rear sail panel while on the 80's they are in the middle of the doors...

... even my '93, the opra lights are those electralumenescent (wow, I spelt that wrong) and not bright at all... on the '87 and '89, they don't work anymore... on the '79 it is a regular interrior type bulb, and they are pretty bright.... makes it look nice at night...

Something i just realized...

the '79 Fleetwood had a few more styling cues... one of them being wider chrome on the rockers, and it extended on the rear quater panels...

http://i14.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/9c/8c/46_3.JPG

see, not only is it on the very bottom like mine, but it is on the bottom of the doors, and behind the rear wheels... I think that makes a big difference too... I'll have to be on the look out for these mouldings... I want them on my car....

...are these the same as the chrome rocker mouldings on the '80's cars or no?